Experienced labourer Phil Evans had been unemployed for over 12 months when he was introduced to the Swansea Workways+ team.

Workways + is dedicated to helping people improve their lives through employment, skills training, work experience and volunteering. Workways+ immediately assigned Phil an experienced mentor, Helen, to work ‘one to one’ with him.

Helen started with identifying what type of work Phil would ideally like and what barriers to employment he may have. Phil wanted to continue labouring, but would like to work in Swansea where he lives, so he could spend more time with his family. Helen recommended that Phil would benefit from some additional skills training. Manual handling and working at heights were two courses identified as being relevant to the work Phil wanted to do. Workways+ registered Phil onto these courses and paid for all the fees. Phil successfully passed both.

Next Helen updated Phil’s CV and helped him with searching for a suitable job. Working with the Swansea based service ‘Beyond Bricks and Mortar’ Helen arranged for Phil’s CV to be sent onto the Buckingham Group, a construction company with a major long-term project in Swansea. The Buckingham Group had a job vacancy for a labourer /gate person. Phil was invited to interview and was successful in securing the job.

Phil said, “I needed to find something that was right for me. Having worked away in the past I wanted to be based in Swansea, to be able to spend more time with my family. Workways+ took this on-board and they did not try to get me to apply for jobs away. I cannot thank them enough; they helped me get new training certificates and find a great local job. I would recommend them to anyone looking to get back into work.”

Workways+ is part funded by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government.

For information on how Workways+ can help you please see www.workways.wales or to contact the Swansea Workways team directly please call 01792 637112